Emmerdale fans were left stunned this week when Nicky's identity was finally revealed. Viewers of the ITV soap haven't trusted the 'too good to be true' character since he arrived in the Dales back in December.
He should up after applying for a job as the new nanny at Home Farm - and he quickly caught the eye of Gabby Thomas. Months later, after bagging the job of looking after her son Thomas, Nicky caved to his feelings and he and Gabby started a secret romance.
However, the pair decided to come clean about the relationship, much to Kim Tate's disapproval. But appearing to want to prove her wrong, Nicky declared that he is in love with Gabby and popped the question.
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But in a massive twist, his true intentions were revealed as he was actually sent to Home Farm by his dad, Caleb Milligan, and has no interest in Gabby at all. The newcomer's connection was finally revealed on Thursday night (April 6) and later, viewers saw Caleb and Nicky making their way through the Emmerdale graveyard.
Then, in another twist, it was revealed that Caleb's dad is Frank Tate and during Friday night's episode (April 7), which will be an hour-long special, viewers will learn more about Caleb's real reason for being in the village and his plan to win back his birthright, Home Farm, with the help of his son.
Nicky actor Lewis Cope previously told the Manchester Evening News and other press about his character: "Nicky's a great character. He's very relatable, likeable, and I'm just having fun with him."
Before revealing the background of his character, which helped bag him the job at Home Farm, Lewis said: "When Nicky was 16 his mam passed away, and he's the oldest of six - and he's basically looked after the kids since they were growing up. So he had a lot of experience with kids, and that's what got him into nannying."
However, this has now all proven to be untrue as Nicky's mum is alive and is separate from Caleb. And Lewis didn't find out until after he started his new gig on Emmerdale. "I thought I was coming in as a love interest to Gabby," he said.
"It was further down the line I got the scripts and it started to reveal itself for me. It was a nice surprise as I wasn’t preempting anything, I could just look at what was on the script and make that work." But the actor himself does have some experience when it comes to being around children as he is one of 14 kids and has 13 nieces and nephews.
But Lewis didn't follow in some of his brother's footsteps and head into the boxing ring. While his brothers Adam, Danny and Peter all won the Northern area title as professional fighters, Lewis chose a different career – dancing, according to the Mirror. And by the age of 11 he was appearing in one of the leading roles in Billy Elliot: The Musical in London's West End.
"I moved to London on my own and lived in ‘The Billy House’, which housed all the kids from the show,” he says. “We were young kids in our first jobs but had so much fun," he told the publication.
After a year Lewis moved back home and joined the street dance group Ruff Diamond, who were runners-up in Sky’s Got To Dance in 2013. At 18, Lewis went to drama school and he has appeared in Vera, Doctors and Hetty Feather.
But a few years ago, Lewis' story caught the eye of David Beckham with the former Manchester United star asking him to be in his advert for his fragrance, Bold Instinct. Lewis, from Hartlepool, recalled to the Mirror: "I’m from a family of 14. Most of my brothers are boxers, but I chose to dance. David used my story to encourage people to be themselves. We spent a day filming and he interviewed me; he was such a nice guy."
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